OUR VIEW: TCAP scores impress

We are proud of our local students, teachers, administrators and staff who all contributed to improved district scores on the 2013 Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program.

In fact, the state Department of Education announced Monday that student performance improved for a majority of school districts across the state. Murfreesboro City and Rutherford County followed the statewide trend with the largest gains in STEM - science, technology, engineering and math - subjects.

TCAP includes the four-day test taken each spring, with writing assessments for grades 3-8. For high-schoolers, it encompasses end-of-course exams and a writing assessment for juniors.

For Murfreesboro City Schools, students in grades 3-6 saw the most growth in math, with a 4.8 percent increase in the number of students scoring proficient or advanced in math, a total of 64 percent. That's three consecutive years of growth.

Math was also the most improved area for Rutherford County students. Students in grades 3-8 had 63.7 percent score proficient or advanced in that subject, an increase of 5.6 percent.

The state average for math scores in grades 3-8 grew by 3.5 percent, 2 percent in science and .4 percent in reading.

We're particularly impressed that more than half of the county's high school students taking the Algebra II exit exam scored proficient or advanced. The county's high-schoolers also posted an 8.5 percent increase in proficient or advanced scores in biology, for a 73.4 percent total.

Reading scores show 10 percent more of the city's students and 12 percent more of county students scored above the state average of 50 percent proficient and advanced in reading.

While local schools outperformed the state average in many areas, "there are areas we need to address," said Rutherford County Schools Director Don Odom.

One area is the graduation rate. Numbers for the school year that just ended are not yet available, but based on 2011-12 statistics, county Schools had a graduation rate of 90.7 percent. The goal for the period measured was 92.1 percent.

Interventions are in place, Odom assured, adding he's confident educators can help students meet all TCAP goals. And Murfreesboro City Schools Director Linda Gilbert has overseen vast improvements in the system.

Scores broken down by individual schools will be available in the fall, and then teachers and administrators can get down to the business of focusing even more on individual student needs.

We're confident our students will shine.

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OUR VIEW: TCAP scores impress

We are proud of our local students, teachers, administrators and staff who all contributed to improved district scores on the 2013 Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program.